Last December, 839 people died across the U.S. due to crashes involving an impaired driver, acccording to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with 285 drunk driving-related fatalities between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Between 2013 and 2017, marijuana was the second-most common substance behind alcohol found in drivers involved in fatal crashes in Massachusetts, officials said.

The office warned that Massachusetts legalizing recreational marijuana use could increase impaired driving crashes, pointing to an uptick in traffic deaths involving marijuana in Colorado reported by the Rocky Mountain High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area since that state began adult use recreational sales in 2014.

The administration also renewed calls for the Legislature to pass Gov. Charlie Baker’s bill (H 71) aiming to give law enforcement new tools to crack down on drug-impaired drivers.

Baker’s legislation, based on recommendations from the Special Commission on Operating Under the Influence and Impaired Driving, would extend restrictions similar to those already in place for alcohol impairment to motorists affected by or in possession of marijuana.

Drivers suspected of marijuana impairment who refuse a chemical test would lose their license for at least six months, and would also be forbidden from having loose or unsealed packages of the substance in their vehicles.

Opponents have argued that, unlike alcohol, tests for marijuana impairment are unreliable.

The Judiciary Committee heard testimony on the bill in November, and the legislation has remained before that panel all year.

Baker signed an unrelated bill into law last month that takes significant steps to prevent distracted driving, banning all cellphone use behind the wheel unless the device is in hands-free mode. The new restrictions take effect Feb. 23, but will not result in fines — which can range between $100 and $500 — until March 31.